Mediaplanet Releases a Campaign to Reflect on 100 Years of Alzheimer’s Research and the Quest for a Cure

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Mediaplanet's digital campaign reveals that a recent breakthrough in Alzheimer's research may hold the key to the cure.

Mediaplanet's "Understanding Alzheimer's" campaign

Seek help, make a noise, talk about it and seek support!

New York, NY (PRWEB)June 13, 2013

A recently launched digital platform unveils a new breakthrough in Alzheimer’s research that is putting us on the brink of discovering a cure. This digital campaign, created by Mediaplanet, also explains the important role that clinical trials has and will continue to play in the quest for a cure.

Alzheimer's strikes one in eight Americans, and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. The disease not only affects the person who has it – it also has a profound emotional and financial impact on their families and loved ones. For society as a whole, Alzheimer’s poses a significant financial burden and greatly contributes to the rising cost of healthcare. More concerning is the fact that current treatments do not halt the disease’s progression—they only address the symptoms.

Researchers from around the world are tirelessly searching for a more effective treatment that can actually stop, or even reverse, Alzheimer’s progression. One of them is Professor Claude Wishik, M.D., Ph.D. and chairman of TauRx Therapeutics. He has been searching for an Alzheimer’s cure for nearly 30 years.

In Alzheimer’s patients, the brain actually shrinks as nerve cells die and tissue disappears. The dead and dying cells contain twisted strands of protein called "tangles.” Professor Wischik is convinced that these tangles and the protein they are made of, tau, play a central role in the disease. He recently entered Phase 3 clinical trials for a drug focused primarily on stopping the tau tangles from developing. The clinical trials, which started late last year, are testing a drug called LMTX™, which he believes could be the first treatment to halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Clinical trials are of utmost importance when it comes to testing the safety and efficacy of any new drug. “You can argue theories until you are blue in the face, but the proof is finding a drug that works, and the only way that can be obtained is through clinical trials. You can do other studies, but nobody will believe it until it’s proven in man,” Professor Wishik says.

Clinical trials are not only crucial to drug development; they can also benefit the participants. “Patients get cutting edge therapies, and the clinical trials don’t preclude them from the currently available therapies. It gives them hope that something may work,” he notes. He urges those affected by the disease– patients and caregivers, – to seek help as quickly as possible: “Run, don’t walk! Seek help, make a noise, talk about it and seek support!”